Ballin' the Jack is basically just a sensual, gyration dance with bumps and grinds. Notorious in its day, it was done as a solo dance or along with swing dancing. It's first public appearance was in 1913 at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem, the play was called "The Darktown Follies" produced by Leubrie Hill in the first act called "At The Ball, That's All." Florence Ziegfeld loved it so much he purchased the rights and used it in his Follies of 1913.

     In 1913 dancer and composer Chris Smith wrote the song titled "Ballin' The Jack," based on a Negro song that was becoming a dance fad across the nation with white America. Most people think of Ballin' the Jack as a swing variant such as the Big Apple and Truckin'. However in the early 1900's, it was a dance all in its own. When it merged with the Lindy Hop, it lost most of its original form and became just a sidekick to swing dance such as pictured on left.

    There are stories that 'Ballin' the Jack' was sung by the African-Americans while laying rail for the rail road companies in the 1890's. The "Jack" was a common name for a locomotive (the jackass carrying the load), and Ballin' was the trainmen's hand gestures to 'Highball it' or "High Balling" which means, "faster or to have fun."

a side note:
The vintage 'Little Wonder Records' had the title of 'Ballin' The Jack' in 1909. The last patent date listed on the record is 11/30/1909.

Birth Place

Creation Date

Creator

Dance Type

USA

song: 1909/1913 (dance: c.1899)

African-Americans

Swing

Sheet Music Covers

Music Titles

1912 - Messin' Around (Perry Bradford)

1915 - Ballin' The Jack (Little Wonder Disc)

1913 - Ballin' the Jack (Smith)

1916 - Pray For The Lights To Go Out

1913 - Ballin' the Jack (Smith)

1920 - Dance-O-Mania

$ At The Ball... (fast)

Baby Doll

Ballin the Blues (Ellington)

$ Ballin' The Jack (Kaye)

Ballin' the Jack (Kaye)

Bark, Battle and Ball ?

Ballin' the Jack (Martin-Lewis)

Come, Come, I Love You Dearly

Ballin' the Jack (Morton)

I Feel So Good

$ Old Man Blues (Big Head)

St. Louis Blues

Stop It Joe (James P. Johnson)

Night Clubs

Theaters

Locations

Most Clubs

1913 - Lafayette Theatre

Mississippi

Cotton Club

1915 - The Palace - London

New Orleans

Renaissance Ballroom

Ziegfeld's New Amsterdam Theatre

New York

Savoy Ballroom

1953 - Palace Theater (d. Kaye)  

San Francisco

Instructional / Exercise

Television

Ballets / Stage

1926 - That's My Baby

n/a

1913 - Darktown Follies

$ 1942 - For Me and My Gal [DVD]

1914 - Girl from Utah**

1951 - On The Riviera?

1915 - Passing Show

1954 - Jazz Dance (w/Leon James & Minns)

Danny Kaye Movie ?

Haunted Honeymoon

Publications

9/1927 - Dance Magazine*

Down Beat Magazine

Other Related Dances of the time...

Apache Dance

Cakewalk

Grizzly Bear

Sewin' The Rice

Baltimore Buzz

Camel Walk

Hippohop

Shimmy

Bamboula

Castle Walk

Jazz Dance

Slow Drag

Big Apple

Charleston

Lame Duck

Suzy-Q

Black Bottom

Collegiate ...

Lindy Hop

Texas Tommy

Boll Weevil Wiggle

Double Twis'

Low Down

Truckin'

Break-Away

Eagle Rock

Mooch and Sugar

Turkey Trot

Breakdown

Frisco, the

Peelin' The Peach

Varsity Drag

Bunny Hug

Gaby Glide

Savoy

Dancers, Choreographers etc.

Political

Alice Palmer (Whitman)

Donald Brian**

n/a

Buddy Bradley

Ethel Williams

Chris Smith

Miss Elsie Janis

Danny Kaye

Books, Magazine Articles on the dance...

Title

Author

Date Published

Publisher

Musicians

Composers

Singers

Poets / Writers

Duke Ellington

Chris Smith

1914 - Joseph Sterns

Elise Marcus* (w)

"Jelly Roll" Morton

1948 - Georgia Gibbs

Prince's Orchestra (1913)

1950s - Danny Kaye

Chubby Checker

Fats Domino

J. Garland & G. Kelly

Perez Prado (Mambo Mania LP - RCA records #LPM-1075)

Misc. Research Words that may be related ... to help your searches

Chris Smith / Jim Burris

High Ball

Locomotive

Low Down

Field Hollers

Juke Joint

Work Hollers / Songs

Other...

Basic Step: (Dance Magazine 9/1927):
Hands placed on bent knees. The knees move in a crescent path, going from side to side, in a mere suggestion of a curve.

Basic Step: (From Sheet Music):
First you put your knees together, close up tight,
Then you sway 'em to left , then you sway 'em to the right... (a Modified Grind)
Step around the floor kind of nice and light, ... (implies a Cat Walk?)
Then you twis' around, and twis' around with all your might, ... (A Hip Roll)
Style and Grace, Swing your foot way round, then bring it back,
Now that's what I call Ball-in the Jack.
Then you do the Eagle Rock with style and grace, ... (see note below)
Swing your foot way'round then bring it back,
Now that's what I call Ballin' the Jack"...

Note: Eagle Rock basically is a dance movement with outstretched arms in a wing like manner, while the body sways back and forth and head back.  Ballin' is short for "Balling" (the Jack).